Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

I got a few acorn squashes in my Bountiful Baskets last week, and I couldn't decide what to make with them.  I found a great recipe for Roasted Acorn Squash Soup, and thought I would give it a try.  Roasted Squash of any type just sounds great, and since it is a little chilly outside and snowing, soup sounds really good.  This soup is a little sweet, and with the pepper it has quite a kick to it.  I really enjoyed it, but I put in way too much heat for my liking.  (I did adjust the recipe from what I did to make it a little less spicy.)

First you need to roast the squash.  Preheat the oven to 400 F, and then cut your squash in half and seed it.  Coat each half with olive oil, and place on a baking sheet skin side down.  I used a Misto sprayer to spary the olive oil on.  Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for 45-50 minutes.  Once cooled, you will need to scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.  (You could probably do this ahead of time, and just let it sit in the fridge until needed.)  Now you will need to gather the rest of your ingredients.

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 onion, chopped (red or yellow)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
4 cups vegetable stock

Now the fun begins, heat the olive oil in a stock pot.  Add the carrots, apple, shallot, and onion, and sautee until tender for about 6-8 minutes.  Once tender add remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil stirring frequently.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the pot from heat, and either using an immersion blender, or a regular blender, puree the soup.  Once puree'd, add salt and pepper to taste.  Now serve and enjoy.  This should warm you up on the upcoming cold winter days.

Depending on the spiciness you want, you can include, omit, or increase the cayenne pepper.  I also tried it using roasted anaheim peppers, and that was pretty good too.